Timeline

Heritage classified

Origin and history

The Cologne Hall is a central building of the Cologne Bastide (Gers), founded in 1284 in Occitanie. Designed to house markets and fairs in its main square, it was built simultaneously at the surrounding covered houses. Mainly made of wood, its original structure survived despite subsequent repairs, without major alterations. Its architecture reflects its pivotal role in the medieval local economy, combining practical function and symbol of the urban organization of the bastides.

The hall adopts a square plan, characterized by a central building with a half-timbered floor, surrounded by tiled roofs. This central nucleus, probably added after a simple hall, served as a depot on the ground floor and as a communal council room on the floor until the Revolution. A conical roof campanile, surmounted by a bell dated 1607, crowned together. The pillars, of stone at corners and of wood elsewhere, support a frame in squared pieces, typical of bastid constructions.

Among the remarkable elements, the hall retains a 15th century grain measure, sealed on a cylindrical stone used for depicking. Discovered in 1968 in a ditch, this stone measure (about 40 litres, or half a medieval bag) illustrates the commercial practices of the period. Two metal hooks allowed bags to be suspended, while a valve system (now extinct) regulated grain flow. This object demonstrates the importance of cereal transactions in the economic life of the bastide.

Ranked a historical monument in 1944, the hall embodies both the architectural heritage of the Occitan bastides and the social role of the medieval halls. Its state of conservation, despite additions such as the campanile, offers a rare example of preserved wooden hall, linked to the very foundation of Cologne. The structure and construction techniques reflect the 13th century's local know-how, adapted to the needs of a growing trading community.

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